Why volcanoes and lightning may have provided vital spark that kick-started life on Earth

Add to My Stories Volcanoes and lightning may have provided the vital spark that kick-started life on Earth, according to new results from a 'forgotten' 1950s experiment.Researchers used modern techniques to re-analyse 'primordial soup' gas samples created in 1958 by pioneering U.S. biochemist Professor Stanley Miller.They discovered a multitude of amino acids, the basic building blocks of life, which can be assembled together to form proteins.

Eruption: Volcanoes and lightning may have kick-started life on earth, a forgotten 1950s experiment found
In 1953 Prof Miller conducted the famous experiment in which he attempted to recreate the atmospheric conditions present just before life appeared on Earth around four billion years ago.By sending an electric spark through a mixture of methane, ammonia, water vapour and hydrogen to simulate lightning, he generated several simple amino acids and other organic compounds.

Simple amino acids - the building blocks of life - were said to have been generated by the eruptions and lightning strikes
But the original 'primordial soup' was a little thin. It did not contain a rich enough array of organic chemicals to produce the complex structures needed for life.For his 1958 experiment, Prof Miller took the crucial step of adding hydrogen sulphide - an evil-smelling toxic gas released by volcanoes - to the mix.

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The new 'primordial soup' samples he created at Columbia University, New York, were shelved and catalogued, but not analysed.
Prof Miller only casually mentioned their exi! stence l ate in his life and scientists only began to realise their importance shortly before his death in 2007.Results from a new study of the samples using modern techniques 1,000 times more sensitive than those available to Prof Miller were published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.They revealed a plethora of organic compounds, including 23 amino acids. Around 20 amino acids, linked together in chains, make up the proteins that provide the material for building cells and all the organic machinery of living things.The abundance of amino acids was greater than that produced in Prof Miller's original 'primordial soup' experiment and two other follow-up studies.Scientists were also able to improve on the results of a 2008 re-analysis of the original samples which made use of modern techniques.'Much to our surprise, the yield of amino acids is a lot richer than any experiment Miller had ever conducted,' said Professor Jeffrey Bada, from the University of California at San Diego, who led the research and was one of Prof Miller's students.'This really not only enhances our 2008 study but goes further to show the diversity of compounds that can be produced with a certain gas mixture.'The findings support the theory that volcanoes played a key role in the creation of life.
Volcanic eruptions are a major source of hydrogen sulphide and lightning discharges, and were much more common when the Earth was young than they are today.Prof Bada also found that the amino acids in Prof Miller's samples were similar to those found in meteorites, indicating that processes involving hydrogen sulphide may have helped spread the seeds of life throughout the Solar System.